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Exciting events announced for Wandsworth Arts Festival and Fringe 2013

Summary:

The popular event will take place in May.

By Emma Birkett

The popular Wandsworth Arts Festival and Fringe released its 2013 event programme last week, and looks set to use its £40,000 Arts Council grant to attract more visitors than ever before.

The festival, which saw over 25,000 visitors last year, will feature many individual events and projects that showcase new artistic talent or bring together the public via creative arts.

One of the six free events at the festival is the Shimmy, with Council Arts Team Manager Helen Renwick describing it as an event like no other.

“It’s an invitation to walk along the beautiful riverside in Putney and experience quality, quirky arts events along the way,” she said.

The Shimmy will include not just visual art but also performance, sculptural installation, dance and street art.

Other events include a pop-up media studio which will be run by local production company Chocolate Films Limited. For two successive weekends at the Southside Shopping Centre, they will be running free drop in sessions on film making and encouraging visitors of all ages to participate in stop-motion and animation projects.

Rachel Wang, producer, director and one of the founders of Chocolate Films Limited, said the festival enhanced community cohesion.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to be together in a different environment,” she said.

One of the returning attractions will be the creative writing competition event hosted by Chalk the Sun, with entries invited on the topic of ‘discovery’. 25 finalists will perform (or allow actors to perform) their work to the general public, where one lucky winner will be selected.

Co-founder of the festival, former stand-up and poet Ardella Jones, said she was delighted to be participating again.

“It helps me achieve my commitment to promote creative writing in every nook and cranny of the community,” she said.

The Wandsworth Arts Festival + Fringe will run from Friday May 3 to Sunday May 19

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